Investigating Macroeconomic Determinants of Happiness in Transition Countries How Important Is Government Expenditure?

This paper combines the data from surveys about happiness and macroeconomic data and analyzes the effects of macroeconomic variables on self-reported happiness in transition countries, focusing particularly on the impact of government size in the economy. We use the international data on the reported happiness levels of thousands of individuals and find that government expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product positively and significantly influences happiness in a set of thirteen transition countries.